First Look at Bradley Ogden's Funky Chicken

Fast-casual chicken and Southern-style sides hit the Heights.

A new fast casual chicken joint, Funky Chicken, had its soft opening today. I tried the excellent crispy fried chicken, the roasted chicken, a surprisingly tasty bowl of seared Brussels sprouts, creamy mashed potatoes, and a bowl of chicken gravy with carrots, chicken chunks, and potatoes in it that tasted more like chicken stew than gravy.

Funky Chicken 181 Heights Blvd. 832-924-4655

Other sides include old-fashioned potato salad; coleslaw; toasted couscous salad with kale and balsamic vinaigrette; and quinoa salad with spinach, toasted almonds, and lemon mustard vinaigrette. Bread choices include corn bread and biscuits. Next time I am going for the chicken pot pie.

Funky Chicken is one of three new restaurants being opened in Houston by legendary California chef Bradley Ogden and his son Bryan. When I asked Bryan why the Ogden family restaurant empire chose to leave its home turf of California and Las Vegas, he told me that one visit to Houston was all it took to convince him.

"I was shocked, I mean really shocked, by what I saw in Houston. What a vibrant city. Great restaurants all over town were packed with customers." So Bryan dragged his dad down here and he was blown away, too.

The father-and-son duo will open a fine-dining restaurant at 191 Heights Blvd., a few doors down from Funky Chicken, later this year. They'll also be opening a brewpub on Gessner at I-10 in Memorial City.